How to take a screenshot on the Samsung Galaxy S6

These two shortcuts let you easily take a screenshot on your Galaxy S6 or S6 edge

Just like earlier Samsung phones, taking a screenshot on the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 edge is simple enough once you know how. So if you're upgrading to Samsung's 2015 flagship from a previous Galaxy phone, chances are you'll be right at home — taking a screenshot works just as it does on the GS5 and earlier handsets.

But if you're new to Samsung or Android in general, it's worth recapping this basic function, as there are countless situations where capturing an image of your phone's screen can be useful.

Take a screenshot using the button shortcut

This is probably the simplest method of taking a screenshot on the Galaxy S6 or S6 edge. Using the physical button shortcut — holding power and home at the same time — will immediately capture what's on your phone's display. This is the same as taking a screenshot on an earlier Samsung phone or an iPhone, only the specific buttons might be in different locations.

Get the app or screen that you want to capture ready to go.

Press and hold the power button and the home button at the same time. It can be a bit of a stretch on these larger phones — particularly on the GS6 edge with its super-thin side bezels — but it works. You'll hear the camera shutter sound fire off, along with a short flashing animation, and that's how you know you're good to go.

You'll now be able to see the screenshot in the Gallery app, or in Samsung's built-in "My Files" file browser.

If you need to find the screenshots from a command line or through the Android File Transfer tool, they'll be in /pictures/screenshots.

Take a screenshot by swiping the screen

This is another screenshot trick we've seen on plenty of Samsung phones in the past, and it's arguably easier than gripping your phone to use the button combination shortcut. (Though it's definitely a little more difficult if you're using the Galaxy S6 edge.) First, tilt your hand onto its side, so your thumb is facing away from the screen, then swipe it across the display in either direction (left-to-right or right-to-left.) As before, you'll hear the screenshot sound and see a brief on-screen animation.

You can enable or disable this shortcut in the Settings app. Here's the step by step breakdown.

Go into the settings menu.

Scroll down to "Motion" and choose "Motions and gestures."

Tap "Palm swipe to capture."

Hit the toggle button from on to off.

After taking your screenshot ...

Once you've taken your screenshot, you'll see screenshot notification in your notification shade. You can share or edit your shot using the buttons in this notification, or swipe away to dismiss it. (Don't worry, your screenshot won't go anywhere unless you manually delete it.)

As the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge both boast enormous 2560x1440 displays, your screenshots could take up as much as 4MB a piece. Keep tabs on them under the "Screenshots" album in the Gallery app, and save space by deleting any shots you don't need anymore.